As the grand plan to save Gotham City unravels at city hall, more Cape Breton Regional Municipality residents are beginning to wonder who the real Joker(s) will be.

Could there be a more apropos time to thank former mayor John Morgan?

During his tenure, tax rates remained relatively constant, basic services were improved, water service was upgraded and major infrastructure initiatives started.

He was the first to challenge the unjust cost-sharing formula with the rest of Nova Scotia, and he maintained a good working relationship with staff and unions.

He financed his own campaign, won three consecutive elections, and was always visible at many public events within the CBRM.

His tolerance of the chronic complaining by some councillors was, perhaps, his only flaw.

Not coming forward with a political affiliation, he couldn’t hand-pick a political buddy to tell the public, media and council what he wanted and when he wanted it.

If something accidental came out, he couldn’t hire another political buddy to put out the fire.

Thank you, John Morgan, for your leadership, your hard work, your availability and accessibility, and for the many improvements that we have enjoyed. Unlike others to occupy the office, you brought no political baggage with you and you owe no one.

You did it your way, based on what you thought was right. You couldn’t be bought, and with an 80 per cent approval rate, you couldn’t be beaten.

Stand tall. This cesspool we call politics needs such people. Best wishes for the future.

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earcam

January 03, 2013 - 15:10

i have being following with interest the conversations between charles and simone. iagree with charles. show us the facts simone.that way we will know if the truth is being said.you are the one saying things. show us the proof

The way these mayors run the city I ask myself why we have any councillors .They are only yes people .In order to make this city move a head is to cut the size of the taxes and downsize the city .We can contract out the city work centre Halifax did it

Best of luck John! I am pround to say I supported you. As for the current state of affairs in the CBRM; I certainly do not blame you. You stood alone against Halifax, and you fought the battle alone. Had the other elected officials, both municipal and provincial stood by you, a clear message would have been heard. My message is much simplier: Free Cape Breton!

Great letter ,and I agree John Morgan was a good mayor,he was not a political puppett in any way .SIMONE you need to get your facts straight. Mac Sween made the decision to run after Mayor Morgan announced his resignation. He also supported Mayor morgan in his fight for equalization payments and they had a good working relationship. Like Morgan he had no political ties and could not be bought by any business or political hacks. Why do you think Clarke resigned from his "job" if not to run against Morgan??? The machine was all in place long before the announcement. Now , let's see who will be Clarke's #1 priority ,CBRM or the party that put him there ( with the help of some liberals) .

Mr VOTER would you care to reference one word Rankin MacSween spoke in favour of the equalization fight BEFORE MacSween ran for mayor. In fact if you check MacSween's position, it was identical to Cecil Clarke BEFORE MacSween ran. Amid the equalization dispute MacSween said repeatedly "Get along and Get Going" as did the people around MacSween. Please correct me if you can find any words he or anyone around MacSween said about equalization except to criticize Clarke DURING the election on the issue. MacSween's demand for passivity BEFORE the election was echoed by his New Dawn supporters on YouTube and Twitter BEFORE the election. If you listen to MacSween's main financial supporter, Annette Vercheron, on YouTube introducing MacSween, she lauds MacSween for not "Whining" - the same position taken by Clarke, Fitzgerald and others; she also makes it pretty clear they were planning the campaign in advance of Morgan's announcement. I suspect Morgan never endorsed MacSween because he knew MacSween and Clarke were two sides of the same coin. Clarke is a shill of the old boy establishment but unlike MacSween, he didn't try to disguise it during the election.

Charles Sampson

December 31, 2012 - 13:31

SIMONE: Perhaps actions speak louder than words in the case for Rankin MacSween on the issue of equalization. As I had remarked on behalf of NSEF in this paper during the election campaign, Rankin MacSween's "real support" of the NSEF conference was MOST HELPFUL to its success and incidentally was held well before any election was also furthered expressed by his attendance at the conference. Clarke's actions on the municipality's efforts to achieve fair funding was transparent too since he used his position to fight Morgan and the CBRM at every opportunity, even to walking out on a meeting with the CBRM when it began to discuss this issue. Perhaps it is poetic justice that Clarke won this election since he was personally responsible for opposing the CBRM efforts on equalization and now must deal with a debt attributable to underfunding.

Simone

January 01, 2013 - 17:20

Well that's interesting; he had New Dawn pay for part of your conference. MacSween has written dozens of letters to the editor in this newspaper on various topics of interest to him. Did he write ANY letters to the editor (or to anyone else) in support of your cause?

Charles Sampson

January 01, 2013 - 19:57

Simone: It appears you like to read more than what I said when I mentioned Rankin gave real support to our conference. On your earler post of December 30, you state, "Clarke is mayor because Rankin MacSween assembled a group to squeeze out Morgan..." Give more detail, names, etc. on this comment - if you have them.

Simone

January 01, 2013 - 22:00

Sure I will do that but I asked you first, give me one word MacSween said publicly BEFORE the election supporting NSEF's effort to get equalization. In fact, he personally did the oposite. He undermined NSEF by saying we "control our own destiny" and his mindless "Get Along and GET Going" chant geared to frustrate those fighting for equalization. Vercheron chipped in with her endorsement that MacSween doesn't "whine". And she was correct he didn't whine because he was always against you - against you "whining". What is unbelievable is that you would so enthusiastically cheer for someone who had such obvious contempt for your efforts.

Charles Sampson

January 01, 2013 - 23:18

Simone: As I said, Rankin did support our conference and attended it. As for any public writing supporting equalization, I am not aware of any. But when faced with his support for the conference compared to Clarke's actual opposition to the CBRM's attempts for fair funding, our choice was relatively easy. You must remember that Morgan was not supported by our so-called self-anointed leaders in business, media and political parties. He was left to fight this injustice with the approximate 80% backing of the public electorate who may have some general knowledge of the issue but lack the specifics. Even council use every opportunity to criticize Morgan. But the accusation you have made, if true, are interesting to say the least. If they are and the facts are verifiable there should be no problem in disclosing who the people involved are and what exactly they did to undermine Morgan.

Simone

January 02, 2013 - 09:20

So you agree MacSween never said a word in support of equalization until AFTER the election was called and the only evidence you have of his support of NSEF ever is that New Dawn paid for part of your conference, but that was also AFTER the main equalization battle was over. While the battle was on, you seem to agree he just chanted "Get Along and Get Going". You seem to agree also with Annette Vercheron that he was not a "Whiner" - at least not until he ran for office. He was not a "Whiner" because he undermined NSEF rather than supporting it. So how was what MacSween was saying publicly before the election any different from the others you decry as undermining NSEF?

Charles Sampson

January 02, 2013 - 15:35

Simone, you apparently continue to read more into what I said then what I did say. I didn’t say Rankin “never said a word in support of equalization until AFTER the election was called” or that New Dawn paid anything. You apparently have your mind fixated on interpretating my comments for your own agenda. Whether Rankin said anything for or against equalization outside of NSEF's involvement, I am not aware. That doesn’t imply I said what you are implying. I have said nothing about what you allege Vercheron has asserted for you to claim I agree with anything she has allegedly said. You are conveniently making accusations against Rankin MacSween and even NSEF that you want to believe are true. You apparently are now backing out of your promise of providing the evidence for your accusations with facts such as your statement that “…MacSween assembled a group to squeeze out Morgan…” What group are you talking about? Who are the individuals you are talking about? Where is the evidence of what you assert?

Cheryl MacDonald

December 30, 2012 - 10:00

Mayor Morgan was an excellent mayor for Sydney, the city is much improved, your taxes were held down for his tenure. No political ties. Job well done. Seems Sydney never knows when it is well off. Best wishes to Mr. Morgan on future endeavors.

i have the greatest respect for our former Mayor , John Morgan, and I am proud to say I know him and worked supported him the moment I realized he existed which was his first campaign , and if he was to run again , I will be there , I believe he is very educated, intelligent, and moved forward without arrogance, bullying , and compassion for the citizens of the CBRM, He did not look for fame, did not feel the need to have his face flaunted in the news media looking for glory, and clould not be bought by the so called business sector organizations and individuals that wanted him to be a yes man, well he was none of that , he did what he thought was right even if it made him somewhat unpopular with those who thought he should be their puppet ,,,,,Love you John Morgan , wish their could be more like you and I am sorry to see you leave as our leader , same time understand that your children are at that age , they need their Dad and that hard to do and be a Great mayor same time , and you are that Great DAD and fantastic Mayor

The question is, how do you reconcile 80% of the electorate that voted Morgan Mayor turning completely around and voting 60+ for Clarke - a slick career politician if there ever was one? Thanks Manning and your riding association - you haunt us still!

I think the voters were left with no choice. Rankin MacSween and the folks at New Dawn and the provincial NDP squeezed out Morgan from being able to run so they could crown Rankin MacSween. Then voters were left to choose between an aging MacSween allied with the provincial NDP with the same "get along and get going" message as the younger and more polished Clarke. So they picked Clarke. Clarke is mayor because Rankin MacSween assembled a group to squeeze out Morgan thinking he (MacSween) could step into Morgan's place.

Morgan Supporter

December 29, 2012 - 18:25

Al Moore.......I agree with you letter,if Morgan had of ran again I would have supported him.Morgan was his own person,and he cared 100% for the CBRM.There is some people that get on here writing comments that are clueless,an example like Johnny B Bad,you talk about whiners,you are one of them.Morgan had the right idea,he didn't fail us with the court case,the Justice System failed us.We here in the CBRM are so short changed concerning aqualization it isn't funny,facts....we are not getting our fair share that is rightly ours because the Provincial Gov. is keeping that from us.It doesn't matter who is in power in Halifax,they all play the same crocked game at our expensive,plus the majoriety of the other municipalities in Nova Scotia are not getting their rightful share either.These are the facts..........................

Fantastic letter. John Morgan deserves a lot of credit and I wish him and his family well. I would love to see him run again. He was a man of the people, for the people. He supported community projects and anyone could talk to him. He was at the people's level. John Morgan was a fantastic mayor for this region and he is a great man. I certainly would vote for him again. I can not say the same for Cecil Clarke and his PC buddies.

It appears John Morgan was the only person holding political office willing to highlight the illegality of the federal equalization manipulation within this province. Even to this day, what politician locally, provincially, or federally has spoken out about this politicalization of federal equalization payments? What other politician or business organization came forward to support this initiative from the get go? The underfunding of municipalities is well known now - read the 2005 Union Nova Scotia Municipalities Report titled A Question of Balance which reported that the provincial formula funded municipalties only 40% of its mandated expenditures. And that provincial formula has been further reduced by 50% to now reduce that municipal funding to 20% according the the Report, A Question of Balance. Still our political representatives remain silent. In fact, now Mayor Clarke was very vocal publicly opposing this municipality whenever it attempted to try and address this injustice.. Recently it was learned that 26 percent of the total federal equalization amount of $1.268 Billion was generated by the inability of Nova Scotia municipalities to raise sufficient revenue from their property valuations to be able to provide its citizens with public services at the national standard. That means within Nova Scotia approximately $329,000,000 of the total was generated from this factor and that that amount should be redirected toward those municipalities identified by the provincial formula as being economically disadvantaged. Under the provincial formula it is broadcasted by the provincial government that CBRM gets 50% of the provincial equalization program of approximately $32 million. However, if CBRM generates over $164,000,000 of the total federal equalization factor involving disadvantaged municipalities, why does it receive approximately $15.8 million from the provincial government to address the economic disadvantages the federal formula has identified? Even Nova Scotians for Equalization Fairness underscored this amount with its 14% Fairness Grant. If this equalization issue was fairly distributed, the "whiners" would be elsewhere that are currently highly dependent on this political manipulation of a written constitutional obligation that is currently unenforced by our political courts. Until this irregularity is constitutionally addressed, John Morgan's unsupported and lone struggle to highlight this illegality will continue to resurface.

I wish Mr. Morgan the best for him and his family,however, as mayor he was simply far too reclusive and devisive. The CBRM must get spending under control and it starts with our bloated, far too idle workforce. Start with the many managers-we problably need a third of the number we have. Let's see if our Mayor and Council (not likely) have the courage to make the tough decisions.

I don't think this reclusive smear makes sense. I was at the Sydney Mines Legion on Canada Day and watched Morgan shake hands and talk to every person in the building. He went table to table talking to hundreds of people. How could he keep 80% support over 12 years otherwise?

johnny b bad

December 29, 2012 - 09:15

Come on 10,000 people left during his tenure the so called equalization fight made us look like a bunh of whiners. Keep holding on to the myths folks and this place is doomed. John Morgan was an unmitigated disaster. If it were not for federal and provincial money the place would be sunk. Tar ponds gas tax money etc etc. John Morgan did nothing he came out of his lair every now and then to beat up on the province that was it.

Mr JOHNNY B BAD
Morgan held his 80% throughout and that included me, I would vote for him again in a heartbeat. He was a disaster for the insiders but he maintained his broad public support throughout all of twelve years and that says he did more than just fight equalization. The fact is we went twelve years without tax increases, he maintained services, expanded recycling and road construction, and led the harbour dredge, the debt was declining for the last four years, there were no labour strikes. Most importantly, he stood with the community rather than against it as some other politicians do.

CB By Choice

December 29, 2012 - 16:02

Have too agree with yah....whole lot of Angry Liberals out there!! 4 years from now...time will tell. Let's have a great 2013 with a new team ! Cheers.

Rene Halden

December 31, 2012 - 08:13

Johnny B Bad understates the out migration of Cape Bretoners and blames it on the former mayor, but the current national policy is to strengthen urban centers at the expense of rural areas. The federal government provided $3,554 million to N.S. in Equalization transfers from 2010 through 2013 with 26 % of this specifically allocated to counter the weak fiscal capacities of municipalities. The N.S. government has kept most of this in General Revenues and, claiming that it provides 50% of its equalization funding to CBRM, paid $48.08 million instead of the $422.48 million that is due to the municipality under federal and provincial allocations during these periods The premier is on record begging for increased federal equalization funding while Mr. Morgan and CBRM councillors fought for fair equalization funding. Who is really “whining? It appears that the provincial government is using the equalization funding for its own political advantage. Thank you John Morgan for your efforts.

Gloria

December 29, 2012 - 04:53

Great letter. Morgan maintained support throughout his term because he was for the average person rather than any political party or special interest. That doesn't happen much in politics.

I agree with all of the above, Mayor Morgan did a fabulous job and our area has never looked better and I hoped he would run again. I admired him for his ability to stand up for what he thought CBRM was entitled to. He was beholden to no one. I wish him all the best in tthe future and maybe he will runagain for office again in 4 yers. time when we get rid of Clark and also the do nothing councillors.